


The Worst Part

by cathrheas



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/F, Face-Sitting, Happy Birthday Queen, Nipple Play, Self-cest, a bit of angst, need i say more........
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-10
Updated: 2020-01-10
Packaged: 2021-02-27 07:47:08
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,185
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22193515
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cathrheas/pseuds/cathrheas
Summary: Amidst the aftermath Jeralt's death and the growing threat of a war, Rhea has a visitor.
Relationships: Rhea/Seiros
Comments: 5
Kudos: 28





	The Worst Part

**Author's Note:**

> happy birthday, rhea! 
> 
> pre-game i found myself liking her, got really excited when the leaks said she was bi. but i was also a die-hard edelgard stan back then, and when i first found out that she'd oppose the church, i thought, "alright, whatever". then i played the game and pope ass won me over. and, god, dont get me started on her fucking backstory -- i have enough emotional baggage to deal with.
> 
> but, i decided to take hers on anyway...
> 
> anyway, in this AU, seiros is a separate person who is an offshoot of rhea - the rhea in this story is indeed the original child of the goddess, while seiros is the product of her anger and grief as a result of the slaughter of the nabateans. rhea went on to form the church under her new name while seiros remained in the shadows.

“This will not turn out well.”

Rhea looked up at the sound of Seiros’ voice. It was like looking into a mirror, at first, but over time, Seiros became more serious. She became harder in the face, rougher around the edges. Rhea still had some of that soft, kind demeanor in her eyes. Seiros looked more tired, though. She’d also grown to like coffee, a drink that Rhea despised. The more Seiros branched off from their core likeness, the more nervous Rhea got.

In the end, though, they wanted the same thing.

“Perhaps it will. Like I said,” Rhea began, “it didn’t look at all suspicious. All of the students are offering their condolences.”

“Weren’t you the one who said we needed to keep an eye on the Hresvelg girl?”

“Yes, I did...only because she was seen talking to Monica so often.”

“And now she’s talking to the vessel. What are we going to do?”

“Nothing. There is nothing to do. They’ve always been talking.”

“Now is not a good time for Byleth to be cozied up to Edelgard. With Jeralt’s passing, Byleth is vulnerable,” Seiros said. She was merely thinking aloud at that point. Rhea tried to keep up, but sometimes Seiros spoke too fast, too intensely. “And of course, Edelgard was one of the first ones there to comfort her. It’s manipulation, plain and simple. We need to get her back. She can wield the Sword of the Creator. The stone is still inside of her, and it must be taking.”

Seiros sighed deeply after finishing off her rant, then sipped the coffee in her cup. Rhea looked down at her abandoned tea; it had probably cooled enough for her to drink it, but she couldn’t move a muscle. Seiros made her uneasy. She was like all the worst—no, not the worst, just the most negative—parts of Rhea in one person. Strangely, Seiros was ambivalent towards Rhea, but usually affectionate. Then again, Rhea wasn’t stupid, and she knew that Seiros needed her around. It was an easy operation, in theory: Seiros pulled the strings, Rhea carried out the actions.

But, sometimes, Seiros wasn’t even clear about what she wanted Rhea to do. “I have done all that I could so far,” Rhea said. “All we can do is wait.”

“No. Assign her to teach another house.”

“That would be foolish, don’t you think?” Seiros frowned, deeply. Sure, Seiros was different from Rhea in a few ways, ways that were pretty unnerving, but Rhea wasn’t afraid to speak her mind if Seiros was relatively docile. “Everyone would wonder why. What explanation would we have?”

“Maybe...we could say...hmph.”

Rhea finally picked up her teacup and drank, watching the gears turn in Seiros’ head. Rhea waited for her to say something else, but nothing came, so she continued to debrief. “It seems Jeralt’s killers are stationed in the Sealed Forest. The professor wants to go.”

“Don’t tell me you gave her permission!” Rhea didn’t respond, and Seiros growled in frustration. “And suppose she gets hurt? Killed? Who will retrieve Mother’s heart?”

_ I hadn’t considered that...why would I assume the worst? _ “I-I don’t know. I considered going myself, but I might send one of the Knights—”

“You can’t ask them to get it, they’ll want to know what it is, and why it’s there,” Seiros roared. “Damn it, Rhea! We might lose everything because of this!”

“I could not say no to her! It’d bring attention to me, to us. Why wouldn’t I let her avenge her father’s death? It’d be cruel. Too cruel for anyone to overlook.”

Seiros was smart. She was more than a fighter, she was a tactician. Rhea had seen her come up with awful plans, horrible schemes and lies that never failed. But when it came to the revival of Sothis, she tended to fly off the handle, being too obvious until Rhea pointed out the problems in her ideas. “I know,” Seiros said. “I understand. My apologies.”

“Nothing will happen to her. Not with the Sword of the Creator by her side,” Rhea added.

“Yes. You’re right.”

“So, all we can do is wait.”

“Yes. Right.” Seiros stood, pacing about Rhea’s room with quick, long strides. It never took long for her to reach a wall, then make a sharp turn, then pace to the other wall, then turn around and begin again. It made Rhea a little dizzy. As she paced, she mumbled, “Shame about Jeralt.”

Seiros must have been trying to comfort Rhea. She wouldn’t have said something like that on her own. “It is...I can only imagine how Byleth feels. It will never compare to what I might think about it.”

Seiros looked at Rhea, then sat back down. Before Seiros decided to meet Rhea every month, Rhea hadn’t even had a table and chairs in her room, since nobody visited her. But Seiros insisted upon her having somewhere for them to sit and talk—and half of the time, she couldn’t even sit still. “We need to be careful about the vessel, too. She’s fragile, we can’t push her.”

Rhea hated when she said that. “The vessel”. There was another difference between them. All of those people over the years, the children they’d watched grow...Rhea grew attached to them, Seiros didn’t. Rhea wanted to see them live full, healthy lives. Seiros wanted to take the stone from their chests the moment she felt it wasn’t working. Rhea wanted things to work out for Byleth, just so she didn’t have to hear Seiros talk like that anymore. 

“I will handle it properly.”

“Yes. You will,” Seiros said. Rhea raised her eyebrows, and Seiros scoffed. “That sounded harsh. No, Rhea, I mean...we couldn’t have done this without one another. I needed you. We really are two halves of a whole. You’re kind. Perhaps to a fault, but...sometimes that’s what we need. But if this gets ugly, I need you to promise me that you’ll be the one lingering in the shadows, and that I can do what I do best.”

“‘If this gets ugly’?”

“The Hresvelg girl,” Seiros said. “Those people that stole Cethleann’s blood, those who oppose our mother, those who want to see the world come to ruin—they’ve been talking with the Hresvelg girl. You said it yourself.”

Rhea exhaled. Sure, she had a feeling about Edelgard, but Seiros had always told her not to let her feelings run amok. “Yes. I did. But—”

“We might be wrong. Maybe she was fooled just like we were.” Seiros stood, walking over to Rhea and kneeling by her side. “But if we are not wrong, if she is associating with those people, and if the vessel stands by her, then it will get bloody. We will have to retrieve the stone by force.”

“No,” Rhea whispered. “I-I don’t think it will happen.”  _ I don’t want it to happen. _

“It might. And if it does, you must promise me, right now, that you will let me take the reins. I thank you for your kind soul, Rhea. I lost mine a long time ago. But if this results in bloodshed, then you won’t have the willpower to do what needs to be done,” Seiros explained. Rhea must have been visibly unsure. Seiros cupped her cheek, caressed it. Rhea looked her right in the eyes. So much like hers, but so different. “This is only in theory, of course. Again, I might be wrong.”

“I think you are.”

“Always the optimist,” Seiros said. Rhea liked having her nearby. When Seiros was across the table, or stomping across the room, Rhea felt almost threatened. But with Seiros sitting so close to her, touching her face...it felt like Seiros was her protector. Teasingly, Seiros said, “We may look alike, but, truly, you’re nothing like me.”

Rhea knew that. She didn’t have to point it out. There were still things they did share, though. “Our birthday is approaching.”

Seiros nodded. “I didn’t forget. Three days’ time, correct?”

“Yes.”

“...Really, it’s your birthday. Not mine,” Seiros corrected, suddenly. “I was born the day Mother died, remember?”

“Y-yes, but...I truly believe you’re still a part of me. One that escaped because I couldn’t control it,” Rhea said. She paused, for a moment, wondering if Seiros was offended. But the part of Rhea that got offended by things, the sensitive part of Rhea, hadn’t quite translated to Seiros. Seiros just stared at her, waiting for her to continue. “Perhaps, when Mother returns, you’ll come back to me. And I’ll be whole again.”

“You’re whole, now. You’ll be happier without me. If Mother returns, we shouldn’t see each other anymore. You don’t need me.”

Rhea mirrored Seiros’ actions, putting her hand on Seiros’ face. Seiros felt cold, almost, or perhaps just cool. Her jaw was tensed, but Rhea felt it go slack, bit by bit. “That’s not true. I need you around. Even if you scare me sometimes, you are still me, and I can’t ignore that.”

“Really? You need me around?”

Rhea’s heart began to thump in her chest. “...Yes. I do.”

“What a coincidence. I need you, too, Rhea.”

Seiros had a habit of being forceful without realizing it. She pulled Rhea into a kiss and used far too much teeth, gripping Rhea’s shoulder until it hurt. They were the same height, so it was a little uncomfortable for Rhea to hunch over, but she wouldn’t trade Seiros’ kisses for the world. Rhea liked being adored, even if Seiros was aggressive about it. In some ways, Seiros’ severity reminded her of their mother, but she’d never admit it aloud; that would certainly make things awkward.

Instead, Rhea chose not to speak at all. They’d first become physically involved with one another when Byleth returned to the monastery, when Seiros was so overjoyed that she couldn’t help herself. Rhea was beside herself, too. It brought warmth to her heart, seeing happiness in that face, so like her own. When Seiros first kissed her and pushed her to the bed, Rhea couldn’t think about how strange it was that Seiros had returned, how odd it was to see her own face looking down at her. She only thought about how their dreams were coming true.

And, truthfully, she had missed Seiros. When Jeralt disappeared with Byleth and the Crest stone, Seiros was furious, far beyond Rhea’s control. Seiros said she was going to give chase to them, although Rhea didn’t know how. She must have done something right, though, because the moment Byleth reappeared at the monastery, Seiros did, too.

Seiros stood, taking Rhea by her hand and leading her to the bed. “I missed you,” Rhea said, smiling. “You aren’t just the bad parts of me. I won’t let you believe that.”

“I am,” Seiros insisted.

“You are not. You’re my bravery, my strength. That’s why I need you here. Neither of us could revive Mother alone; we’re two halves of a whole.” 

Seiros touched her, moved her, like she was little more than an object sometimes. Rhea felt a bit like a doll, being thrown to the bed to be played with. “You’re too talkative, Rhea.”

Ah. That was Seiros’ friendlier way of saying “shut up”. Rhea would have listened to a less friendly rendition, too, but Seiros was feeling good that night, despite her many complaints about their plans. When Seiros was in a good mood, Rhea tended to feel a bit spoiled. She could feel the joy through Seiros’ fingertips. The way she touched Rhea was so intimate, so knowing. They each had their own preferences, a side effect of their wildly different personalities. Rhea liked gentle touches, loving touches. Seiros preferred quick trysts, paying no attention to trifles like gentleness. 

But when Rhea had done something Seiros had liked, or when things were starting to look up, Seiros would do it Rhea’s way. That night, Rhea hadn’t expected gentle hands. Seiros had been agitated since she’d arrived, but she’d softened. “It’s interesting that you mentioned your birthday,” Seiros said.  _ Who’s talkative now, _ Rhea thought. Seiros was still focused, though, dutifully pulling Rhea’s dress over her head. “I was thinking about it, as well.”

“Were you?”

“I considered bringing you a gift. Something from Zanado,” Seiros said. Was that where she disappeared to, during the days between their meetings? “But then I wondered if that would have satisfied you, and decided against it.”

“I would never turn down a gift from you.”

“But would you be satisfied, is the question. It doesn’t matter, now, since I didn’t bring anything. I suppose this is all I can give you.” 

“It’s your birthday, too,” Rhea tried to remind Seiros, but Seiros was already fixated on her.

Seiros had a fondness for her breasts. Rhea’s bra always came off first, and Seiros would get distracted, and Rhea would simply have to lay there as her panties got wetter and Seiros did as she pleased. Rhea arched her back in a practiced motion, allowing Seiros to undo the clasp of her bra and discard it, flippantly, like it was in the way. “My, my. Are you cold, or just excited?”

Seiros was brushing her thumbs over Rhea’s hardened nipples. Rhea felt the tiny scars on the pads of Seiros’ fingers; they only excited her more. “Cold, perhaps...”

“I’ll warm you, then.”

“...Please.”

It was strange, being nearly naked while Seiros was fully clothed, but Seiros didn’t undress herself often. Instead, she put Rhea on display, admiring every scrap of skin that she could see. She tended to do most of her admiring with her mouth, but not with words. Her head dipped to Rhea’s chest, her tongue snaking out to tease Rhea’s nipple—or warm it, as she’d put it.

“So sensitive,” Seiros whispered. “You missed me.”

“I-I did. Nobody...nobody touches me like this, anymore. Nobody but you.”

“I know this body well, is all. Better than you, even.”

That much was true. Seiros led a multi-faceted assault on Rhea’s senses, starting with her pillowy, glossed lips wrapping around Rhea’s nipple, sucking hard. And then her hand, coaxing Rhea’s legs apart and caressing her inner thigh. Sometimes, Seiros would pause, move up to give Rhea a kiss, but that was only on the nights where she was truly pleased, and it seemed like Rhea had only earned the one she’d gotten earlier.

She didn’t need kisses, when Seiros was touching her elsewhere, in more important places. The pulsing suckling on her breast was merely a distraction from the main event: Seiros was running her fingers along Rhea’s white silk panties, and the sticky fabric pressed further against Rhea’s skin. Rhea reached between them and held Seiros’ wrist. “Please, take them off.”

Seiros sat back on her heels, pulling off of Rhea completely. Had Rhea gotten too needy? Seiros had never denied her pleasure outright before, but it wouldn’t have surprised Rhea at all if she did. Instead, Seiros commanded, “Take them off yourself.”

It wasn’t a strange request, but it made Rhea shiver. Seiros looked down at her, watching Rhea wriggle out of her panties. Rhea only had them halfway down her legs when Seiros laid down on the bed next to her, on her back. Had Rhea ever seen Seiros on her back? “What are you doing?”

“You are going to sit on my face.”

_ She doesn’t tip-toe around the subject... _ “That sounds a bit uncomfortable. I am a grown woman, after all—won’t I be heavy?”

“Nothing I cannot handle. I wouldn’t have asked if I couldn’t,” Seiros pointed out. “Don’t make me beg you.”

Testing the waters, Rhea said, “Would you, if I asked?”

“Considering the circumstances, no. You would be the one losing out if you decided to disobey me.”

_ Disobey. _ Seiros threw around powerful words like that in general conversation, as if to remind Rhea who was stronger, who had more willpower. Seiros had considered having them switch out, with her acting as Rhea for a few weeks, but Rhea shut the idea down; Seiros was too severe for anyone to believe it was just Rhea. 

But her words did command respect, and Rhea gave it to her. After all, she had to claim her birthday present.

Rhea crawled up Seiros’ form, watching Seiros lick at her lips. As Rhea’s legs moved, she felt the wetness between her thighs, the excitement that had formed there. She wanted Seiros, badly. There was an inexplicable, unbreakable bond between them. Even if Seiros never combined with her again, she would have been glad just to have her there, beyond all ideas of right and wrong.

The notion of Seiros disappearing when Sothis returned was worrying to Rhea, so of course she went along with what Seiros wanted; what if she was gone, soon? Rhea had to remember her touch, had to take all that she could get. She steadied herself over Seiros’ face, putting a hand flat on the wall above her bed to keep her balance. “Like this?”

“Come down a little more. I can’t reach you, all the way up there.”

Before Rhea could move, Seiros was holding her butt, bringing her down like that. The moment Seiros’ mouth made contact with her slit, Rhea jumped upwards, but Seiros forced her back down. Rhea had no choice but to bear it. She knew from experience that stifling her noises of pleasure was impossible, so she let herself go, settling onto Seiros’ face and crying out.

Seiros laughed into her, sending a lovely vibration to her clit. Rhea leaned forward, resting her forehead against the wall and shutting her eyes. Nothing compared to Seiros’ mouth, her lips and her tongue and her teeth. Rhea had spent so many nights touching herself, trying to replicate the feeling, clawing at herself in a desperate attempt to mimic the woman she was missing. But when Seiros was there, in the flesh,  _ beneath her, _ every other sensation paled in comparison.

Rhea pushed her hips forward, wondering what kind of reaction she’d get, and found that Seiros didn’t mind being used. The lapping of her tongue grew more intense as a reward, spurring Rhea on. When Seiros did that, Rhea started to push back down automatically, like she couldn’t control it.

“Mm...Seiros...”

Seiros was usually more wordy, liked to tease Rhea until her cheeks were as pink as the gash between her legs, but her mouth was preoccupied. Instead, she gave Rhea’s ass a hearty squeeze, none-too shy about her sharp nails digging into Rhea’s skin. But those hands could never stay still for long; besides, Rhea was able to fully balance herself by then, so Seiros decided to move them elsewhere.

After giving Rhea’s butt one last teasing grab, Seiros’ hands slid around Rhea’s hips, pulling her forward. Then, they returned to Rhea’s chest. Rhea’s nipples were still wet with Seiros’ saliva, but she still felt that tinge of pain nonetheless when Seiros pinched them. Of course, Seiros couldn’t help herself. Even on her softer nights, she found salvation in Rhea’s pained gasps. Rhea was always forced to be honest with herself when Seiros was nearby, and she knew that she liked it. Who had ever made her feel like that before? Who had ever taken her so swiftly?

Nobody but Seiros, and she did it with gusto. Even as her fingers rolled Rhea’s nipples, her tongue still worked tirelessly. She pushed it inside of Rhea, licked at the honey that had coated her walls. Her nose was lightly, too lightly, brushing against Rhea’s clit, and it was starting to drive Rhea crazy. 

Not like she could put it into words. Seiros loved to hear her beg, but loved making her speechless, too. Rhea was in the latter state of mind; she could only pant and whimper, rutting against Seiros’ face like an animal. She started to bear down harder, dirtying Seiros’ cheeks as she tried to get some stimulation to her throbbing clit.

Almost like a warning, Seiros pinched Rhea’s nipples particularly hard, and Goddess, it hurt, but Rhea wanted  _ more. _ If Seiros had meant that as punishment, it didn’t work. Rhea only got more excited, fucking Seiros’ face in the hopes that she’d get another pinch. Rhea opened her eyes, looking down between her legs to see that Seiros was staring at her. Those green eyes, twice as intense as hers, half as forgiving.

Rhea let her free hand drop down to Seiros’ head, carding her fingers through her hair. It was Seiros, then, who shut her eyes, as if to make sure she didn’t distract herself from what she was doing.

Rhea tugged at Seiros’ hair, trying to direct her to where she needed her. She even lifted her hips a little, dropping back down when she felt like Seiros’ mouth was in the right place. Seiros laughed again, shaking her head a bit beneath Rhea’s fingers. Then, graciously, she laid her tongue flat against Rhea’s clit, giving her a long, torturous lick.

“There,” Rhea cried, suddenly finding her voice. “There, please!”

Seiros had a bit more room to move, then, and of course, she abused the chance the moment she could. “You sing so prettily for me, Archbishop.”

Rhea couldn’t even address the mocking tone, not right then. Instead, she put one hand over Seiros’, the hand that was on her breast. “Harder, here.”

The seconds between when Rhea asked for it and when Seiros delivered were short in reality, but in Rhea’s mind, it felt like an eternity. It felt like she had been denied the pleasure of pain for so long. Her sense of time had always been warped, after being around for so long, but with Seiros, time truly flew by. How long had Seiros been licking at her? Minutes? Hours? Forever? 

No, Rhea  _ wished _ it was forever. She bucked her hips into Seiros’ face over and over, wondering if that would anchor her there so they could make love forever. She knew it wasn’t rational—she knew that Seiros had other motives, that they had a greater goal, but would it have been so horrible? To be with someone who truly understood her, the good and the bad?

Rhea grabbed at Seiros’ hair again, clutching desperately at her.  _ Don’t go, _ she thought. Somehow, she felt like their mother returning wouldn’t mean anything if the space that Seiros occupied in her was left empty.

“Seiros,” Rhea gasped. “Please—I love you, please...”

“You love me?” Seiros repeated. She was being a tease, almost cynical, but she kept going anyway. Like she couldn’t stand to let Rhea down.

“I do. I do. I need—”

Another cruel twist of her chest from Seiros. Seiros seemed to be doubling down, ruthlessly squeezing and nipping Rhea’s tits and sucking at her clit until Rhea thought she would melt. Again, Rhea leaned forward against the wall; it was cool compared to the raging red heat of her forehead, her whole body. She wanted to hold Seiros close, to kiss her lips, to make her feel good and hurt just like she felt. 

But Rhea could do nothing but fall victim to Seiros’ touch, shuddering and slumping further into the wall as Seiros finished her off. Giving no thought to her filthy face or Rhea’s croaking screams, Seiros kept on. But, acutely, Rhea felt Seiros’ breath quickening, getting heavier. Rhea really couldn’t stop thinking about it, what it would be like to hear Seiros moan. Would it sound like hers, airy and desperate? Or would Seiros sound stronger than her, more intense?

Rhea never got the chance. It always ended the same way. Rhea felt lifeless as she sank to the sheets next to Seiros, quivering and breathless. Seiros sat up, closing her eyes and dragging the back of her hand across her lips. Sleeping with Seiros, sometimes Rhea felt like they were in a war of their own. Like Seiros saw her as a target, something to be conquered. There were certainly still parts of Seiros left in her, because Rhea liked being seen that way.

“I have to leave,” Seiros said, practiced.

“...I see. It’s a shame we won’t see each other on our birthday.”

“The monastery is too festive, too crowded, on Saint Seiros Day. If I were to come—”

“There would be too much commotion for anybody to notice you.”

Seiros seemed irritated, but her response was surprising. “Maybe...but it will have to be at night. As always.”

“Of course.”

“...And I still won’t bring you a gift.”

“That’s fine. As long as you come.”

Seiros got off of the bed, straightened her clothing. Nobody would be seeing it, that late, but Seiros was vain, and couldn’t stand not looking her best. “Keep an eye on the vessel, Rhea. Offer her some comfort.”

That put a damper on Rhea’s mood, admittedly. Of course, Seiros had to bring it up. Then again, it wasn’t fair for Rhea to expect anything else.  _ We have a goal to reach. Together. And then... _

“I will. Don’t fret, Seiros. We’ll succeed this time.”


End file.
